♪ >> You know, the problem is perhaps not using all the arrows that are already in the quiver.

>> Kentucky's emergency protective orders.

Do they work and will strengthen them?

Help victims of domestic violence?

>> They're sending kids on from kindergarten to first grade who are not ready, who are not even at the kindergarten level because their parents wanted to.

>> Why some state lawmakers say holding back some kindergartners could be a good idea.

>> The BBB is something that we need for 10 says from everything we Casey, that they believe me.

It's something that we need everything we can see.

>> Plus, meet the Kentucky student winning national praise for putting medicine to music.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky.

Addition this midweek, it is Wednesday, February.

The 12th, I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us survivors and advocates of domestic abuse believe the measure before state lawmakers can help protect them from violent partners.

But some say remedies already exist.

Our June Leffler has more as we begin tonight's Legislative update.

>> Judges can grant victims of domestic violence.

No contact orders that makes it a crime for a perpetrator to come anywhere near a victim physically or virtually.

But one survivor says her protective order did not stop her abusive ex-husband.

>> Within 6 days he had started breaking the emergency protective order by making false accounts and fake profiles.

And following me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

I found them contacted the Lynchburg Police Department.

They issued a warrant.

He was rearrested.

During that time.

He sent me a 3 page letter from jail.

Because they let him.

He tried to calm me from the jail.

I never had to be blocked.

And on December, the 30th, the Franklin County Jail decided he was a good night and he was released.

>> A Taylorsville representative proposes stiffer penalties and House Bill.

38.

>> Currently, if there is a violation of an order of protection, it is a class, A misdemeanor.

What this legislation does on the 3rd violation have an order of protection as it's written on the on the same orders, same individual that would move up to a Class D felony.

>> The House judiciary advance the bill unanimously that the committee of mostly lawyers suggested some tweaks as it moves through the legislature.

They heard from a former public defender who's now with the criminal defense lawyers group, the testimony that I heard.

That stocking and it's felony stalking.

>> But the problem is not that we don't have laws on the books.

It philonise the behavior when it needs to be.

Fallon asked.

You know, the problem is perhaps not using all the arrows that are already in the quiver.

>> On a separate matter, heard in the same committee today, a Republican from Louisville once again propose compensation for Kentuckians who served jail time for a crime they did not commit.

I would like for us each of us to put ourselves our loved ones in their position because as they sit here today, they are just as innocent of the crime for which they were convicted and served as each one of us are.

Genetic car is one of the youngest people to be exonerated with the help of the Kentucky Innocence Project.

But I walked into the interrogation room.

I thought that if I just told the truth, I would get to go home, which is what I was told idea.

Tell the truth.

That was innocent.

>> House Bill 206 would compensate exonerees $65,000 for each year.

They were incarcerated and $32,000 for each year on parole, the committee advanced the bill unanimously a similar bill last year did not make it past the finish line for Kentucky June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June another legislative news, the full Senate okayed a bill aimed at what's called sextortion which happens when someone sexually explicit images are used against them.

Senate bill, 73 would make sextortion a felony.

A state Senator Julie Rocky, Adam says her bill would also give victims a legal way to seek justice.

Also an amendment attached to the bill today increases the grade level for age, appropriate educational materials posted in public schools from 4th to 6th grade.

Sexual extortion is one of the most dangerous and rapidly growing crimes targeting young people today.

>> The FBI reports that 6 torsion is the fastest growing crime against children.

It is calculated.

It is cruel and it thrives on fear and silence as a mom of teenagers.

I had been shot.

What goes on in our elementary schools, our middle schools or high schools as kids get access to technology sooner and sooner.

>> Than previously, especially when we were growing up.

You know, when when the kids were little I talked to a detective about what I could do to prevent them.

Seeing certain things are engaging certain behavior online to protect them from bad actors.

And then gently said if you're trying to prevent that from happening, you're kind of on a fool's errand that actors are going to be one step ahead of you every time.

It's not a matter of if your kid gets exposed to something it's wind.

And the best thing you can do is educate them on what to do when they see it.

Who do respond to who to talk to, where to get help.

And I too think education part of this bill is really important.

>> Senate bill, 73 unanimously passed the full Senate and now heads to the House for consideration.

There.

>> Children in Kentucky may have to repeat, repeat kindergarten if the school decides they're not ready to move on.

That's the gist of a bill gaining traction in the Kentucky General Assembly.

That idea is detailed in House Bill 240.

That was approved by an education panel this morning.

One of the bill sponsor state representative and school Principal Tim, a true it says getting it right in kindergarten is vital to a chilled to a child's future.

Our McKenzie spank has more.

>> I've seen hundreds.

Hundreds of kindergartners.

Head to retaining kindergarten for a second year.

And in that second year, all of a sudden something clicks.

And now that student is ready to learn.

>> Kindergarten is the first building block in a child's education.

But that doesn't mean it's an easy a representative to be true.

It says that when parents get the news that their child has not made adequate progress in kindergarten, kids are often being advanced to the first grade before they're ready and what's happening.

>> I know this firsthand because I talk to principals daily.

What's happening is?

They're sending kids on from kindergarten to first grade who are not ready, who are not even at the kindergarten level, but they're moving them on to first grade B calls.

The parents want him to.

They want their kid to to stay back a war.

They want their kid out of there as quick as possible.

I've had I've had many parents tell me that.

>> Data from the Kentucky Department of Education reflects a kindergarten readiness issue.

The 2023 Kentucky School report card should only 40% of students in all districts are considered kindergarten Ready.

Representative Scott Lewis who serves as chair for the House Committee on Primary and Secondary Education says that boosting those early education numbers will improve student success down the line.

>> I hope you in the audience understand that with some of the things we're doing today is folks known K 3 and that's where we have to start.

If we can get more kids reading, they're going to do well later on.

We're not going to worry about that, but we need to spend our time and energy in K 3 doing every possible thing we can do to get those kids to read those things will fall in place.

>> One of the concerns brought up during discussion was ensuring that teachers would be at the center of the decision-making process when it comes to making a child or P kindergarten.

This does not in any way undermine the professional judgment of the teacher who if they have seen the child make significant growth in a year.

>> Because any any child can take a have a screen are done on a day when it's just a bad day.

But all the other data supports that.

They have mastered the skills.

>> If a student.

You know, I ends up having a bad day and that universal screener is, you know, is lower than it should be.

But that teacher thinks.

They are ready to move on.

there's enough wiggle room in there to words were it would happen.

The word that teacher and that's cool could decide it.

We're going to move this kid on.

>> Apart from improving test scores, Representative Lisa Willner.

So this measure could also improve a student's self esteem.

A sense of belonging.

>> Is so important to student success.

And if a kid is not successful in kindergarten, they don't know how you know, they don't have those skills.

And then we just KET moving them through.

They're of absorbing this notion of school isn't for me.

I don't belong here.

This is not where I need to be.

And I I think this could go a long way to changing some of that for a lot of kids.

I think the beauty of doing that, not just in your school but trying it statewide is to reduce that stigma.

This is just what we do.

And it's not a negative thing.

It's not a punitive thing.

It's just you're going to be more successful in the long run, happier in the long run.

>> A student could not be made to repeat kindergarten indefinitely under this bill.

If a child turns 7 by the August first deadline, this measure would not apply to them and they could move on to first grade.

For Kentucky.

Addition on the Kansas Bank.

Thank you, McKenzie.

It's also worth noting that if a student has an IEP or individualized education program because of a disability.

>> This bill would not apply to that child.

House bill allowing Kentucky schools to KET anti choking devices on hand is headed to the Senate after passing the lower chamber today, House Bill 44 known as Landon's law is named after 8 year-old Landen McCaa bins who choked to death in a classroom and 2022, the bill does not require schools to have the anti joking devices.

It also removes liability if the devices used during such emergencies.

That part of the bill gave some lawmakers pause.

>> And everybody here wants every available technology.

At our schools to KET our kids safe.

the anti choking devices referenced in this bill.

They have shown some potential in clinical trials and research the evidence on the safety and efficacy of these devices is limited.

I think we also have to acknowledge the U.S. FDA.

It's put a communication cautioning that these are only as a last resort.

They've also recommend strongly that we follow American Heart Association and the Red American Red Cross guidelines on how to deal with choking emergencies.

I want other concerns specifically with paragraph 5 in this bill, which I think could be read as to provide civil immunity to manufacturers of such devices, even though they don't have FDA approval at this point.

It's because of these reservations, not because of the goal of this bill.

What I'm going to be voting no, I would actually encourage potentially some some amendments or some revisions to this and future legis legislation.

If my child is having an emergency, I want every tool available.

That being said, I do share the gentleman from Campbell's concerned that we may be exempting manufacturers from liability.

>> And if my child is injured, I don't want to go after their school district to go after that device that hurt them supportive today.

But I do hope that we can work to amend the have that one section.

So that parents have recourse if their children are injured by the device.

>> Despite those objections, the bill passed by a vote of 92 to 5 that now heads to the Senate for consideration.

There.

>> Improving the efficiency of Medicaid is the goal of a bill that cleared a Senate committee today.

A state Senator Stephen Meredith, a former hospital CEO and current chair of the Senate Health Services Committee, is the sponsor of Senate Bill 13.

If passed, it would prohibit the Department for Medicaid services from awarding contracts to more than 3 m CEOs or managed care organizations.

Currently the department works with up to 6 and CEOs are health insurance companies that are contracted to administer Medicaid benefits.

Senator Meredith says this small change would lead to substantial administrative savings for health care providers.

>> But just think if we can reduce health care costs, we can put over $7,000 a year back in families, pockets and that we do that.

We look at the drivers of health care cost invol hanging fruit to me is the administration.

It's associated with health care delivery.

We're spending about 30.

Since it every dollar just on administration health care.

That's double what other industrialized nations are spending between focus on the administration and health care.

It does a lot of things.

It can improve access to care.

It can to help stymie that.

The problem of inadequate reimbursement.

You can make it more customer for any patient friendly.

So that's why I propose only having.

3 m SEALs.

>> Senate Bill 13 unanimously passed out of committee today.

It now heads to the full Senate which passed a similar bill last year.

It stalled out in the House.

A property tax relief measure for some Kentucky ends is moving forward in the state Capitol and closer to letting Kentucky voters have a say Senate bill 67 but advanced from committee today is a proposed constitutional amendment to cap property taxes for homeowners aged 65 and older to KET them from paying increases on their permanent residents.

Republican state Senator Michael Namus is the sponsor of the bill.

He says even a small tax increase could have an impact on those living on a fixed income.

>> The Senate bill, 67, it's held or property tax bill.

And as we lower income taxes, which the elderly Payton or during their they're working time we need to consider them.

And those that are are on a fixed income.

So what this bill does?

I want to see nurses and turn 65 or older lives in their residents as their primary residence in owns the property.

The assessment for the purpose of the assessment for the purpose of taxation stays at that level until they no longer use it as a proper primary residence such as they sell it, move down a move to their children's on the scout So they don't have to move in with her children.

They will still pay property tax on Vicki captured assessment at the current rate.

Well, there's upward and other words, if the rate goes up, then they will have to pay or higher tax, but they won't have to pay on the higher assessment.

>> The bill would require an amendment to a section of the state constitution refer to as the Homestead exemption.

If the bill passes the General Assembly by a three-fifths majority, the amendment will be placed on the 2026 ballot for voters to decide.

And the House a bill to curb foreign influence and some Kentucky elections received a party line vote of approval today.

Here's the sponsor of House Bill.

45.

>> House bill 45 prohibits foreign nationals from funding influence efforts on our Kentucky ballot measure elections, including constitutional amendments.

Current sheriff law does not require disclosure of who pay for ads for or against ballot measures on like the candidate elections that we're all familiar with House Bill 45 would close that loophole.

>> The group Americans for Public Trust reported that a Swiss billionaires PAC supporting abortion rights and other liberal causes spent more than a half a million dollars on ballot measures in Kentucky since 2014.

♪ ♪ >> Laura Rogers joined by National Public Radio's Reiland Barton and brought.

And we're diving into some big stories this week, including one about the University of Kentucky sounding the alarm, how they could lose millions of dollars in health research funding due to a Trump administration policy concerning the National Institutes of Health.

Tell us more about that.

What we need to know about that story.

>> Yeah.

University Kentuckyian other universities as well.

The UK is the one sounding the alarm here.

So this all relates to President Trump's order to make cuts to the National Institute of Health UK President Eli Capilouto says he expects that couple leaves about 40 million dollar a cut over the course of the year to help research funding.

So that includes the fight, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's.

A lot of research that UK doesn't really the kind of centerpiece a probe of a lot of it as a medical research institution.

So a federal judge is actually blocked those cuts.

This was a Michelin attempt to be put into effect last Friday.

A few days later, a judge blocked them.

And this it's really just part of this larger effort that we've been talking about over the last few days of the Trump administration trying to kind of push for its own funding priorities.

And really at this point, it's that's cut their certain programs that they want to cut.

They're just trying to unilaterally do that going around Congress.

Really rich.

Everybody's assume that's the that's the brand says the power of the purse, the Francis sides, how money gets spent.

It does seem like there's so much of this happening right now.

There's this kind of one of the zone mentality from the new administration.

Great about it over the speech weeks over to so many different programs.

USA ID, for example, in foreign aid.

This is totally different focus on domestic the health research funding.

I'm really waiting to see how the leaders of the Republican led Legislature will respond to this.

The UK, other universities to research programs like this are really ground rules of the state.

This is something to that lawmakers really push for and it's something that you know, we're waiting to see it build build, be in line with the federal government's priorities on this.

At this point.

Still waiting to hear from them.

Kentucky public radio did reach out to the council for post-secondary education had Aaron Thompson.

He said that these funds are really essential to these higher education institution, but they're still monitoring the situation.

>> And then another story that's making statewide news concerning legislation before the General Assembly.

That's also connected to the Trump administration policies.

He with President Trump is mentioned that he would like to potentially use state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out some of his mass deportation plans.

This legislation way prevent any type of sanctuary policies are cities.

Tell us what the General Assembly is considering as far as that goes.

>> Yeah, there's a there's a couple different bills like So a lot of those so-called sanctuary policies that the type of tools that local cities or counties have passed that would direct police or local government employees to not ask people about their immigration status.

So that, for example, Jefferson County direct local police to not work with immigration enforcement.

This has come up before a certainly a lot during the first Trump administration and they're several counties in Kentucky that have policies like this.

Jefferson Scott Campbell, Franklin County's one of the bills would allow people who are victims of violent crime.

That was perpetrated by somebody is in the country illegally to sue local governments over that if that crime is committed against them.

For immigrant advocates are saying this is something that's really confusing.

The whole situation also ignoring benefits that immigrants illegal or dark have on the community of about 5% of the state's population is the use of an immigrant population.

And it's a huge part of the states housing industry, signature industries like porches, bourbon this well, tourism and this whole tournament agriculture and of course, and this is just that a huge moment right now.

Of course, we saw during the campaign.

That certainly is Trump's taking office.

Republicans let states around the country are really rally around this.

There's one out that I sought out of the University of Missouri is monitoring legislation like this and there's 223 bills across.

35 states related to immigration in some ways, 78% of them are related to supporting the Trump administration's policies on this.

of this attempt to the to crack down on illegal immigration through this deportation process.

>> And now let's go to Glendale, Kentucky in Hardin County, which is home to blue Oval.

that huge production facility and that EV battery market and workers.

They're making efforts to unionize.

Tell us more about that.

>> Yeah, the Louisville SK was also we are working with forward on this big electric vehicle especially the world's largest electrical vehicle battery manufacturer.

So yeah, recently at a super majority of workers there have called for this union.

But that >> United Auto workers, this factory will ultimately employee of the 5,000 people.

And it's it's part of a larger movement across the south of the UAW trying to unionize.

>> Auto plants, there's a big victory that they had and Chattanooga last year.

There's a lot of manufacturing in the South.

We have Kentucky in this unique position where it has a Democratic governor and yet it is a right to work.

rates work meeting that even if you're an employee at a union, I shop you're not required to pay union dues still, you would be those workers would still benefit from those union benefits and and really at this point, looks like there's enough people who wanting to have a union that and pay those dues of the could come there.

It's a big movie right now.

The both this confluence of Kentucky trying to be the forefront of battery manufacturing.

And we're trying to go in the direction of.

But it's like been like for unions in the south across the country has been this huge decline.

I think about 9% of the nation's workforce is unionized.

Only 11% of Kentucky's workforce is unionized, which is at a low.

And yeah, I think everybody's waiting to see if this is this is going to go forward with this is if Kentucky ends up having this and it kind of stems the tide of that, that union side.

>> Well, Roland, we sure appreciate your time today.

Thank you so much.

And we will see you again next week.

>> A second-year medical student at the University of Kentucky entered into a national contest held by brain facts Dot org and the Society for neuroscience where he had to make an informational video about a topic related to the brain and to his surprise, he won first place.

Details in Tonights weekly.

Look at arts and culture.

We call tapestry.

>> And something really cool to show you about.

The brain is something called the BBB to Bring Blood barrier.

If you've heard of it, I want to make something those very interactive, something that would get stuck >> in your head, but also was very What I was trying to share with everyone, the Navy is something that we need them >> The best way I know how to do that is the music is because I'm independent artists and I make music all the time and make beats all the time.

This is something that I love to do.

And so I had actually had some music that I had used before.

And at the same time I was setting for an exam where we're learning about the BBB.

So I use both the information I was learning and then sat down with the music, wrote it made the video and submitted it.

And I was like hopefully they like it.

So the BBB is the Brain Blood barrier.

And the BBB is something that protects the spinal cord from outside pathogens and things like that.

So it's very selective in what can actually get into your central nervous system.

So that separates or your cerebral spinal fluid and the bloods wrapping it.

I've always known I want to blame the media in science because the arts and science are 2 very strong passions of mine.

And I didn't really know how to, until I found out about the field of science communications and then signs going cases and mass media and really trying to break down sides of the findings to for the general public to understand and digest.

So when making this video, I was like, this is my first time like my debut as a scientific communicated and I wanted to make sure that anybody could understand it.

So I came at it with a additive.

Let's make it kind of like a children's show where there's a call and response and like this, a teacher, which is what I like in the video.

This me teasing to the audience was like the kids behind the screen, which is also mean you just kind of like dancing back and forth with.

That's where you go into the chorus singing repeating like how important the BBB is and what it does.

And then the kids sing it back.

And so I really took a lot of influence from like Dora, the Explorer Sid, the Science Kid, things like that.

Bill Nye to really build the foundation of how I wanted the video to go.

But then with the details, I want to make sure that I was giving accurate information without also using giant terms that only we know as scientists.

I don't look at it as like I won a new setback because like I won, let's KET going.

Let's do more things.

Let's make it better and just make it something that says undeniable like this is something that's so great they can live on.

>> Come back next.

Time when you tapping see later.

>> I think we'll be seeing a lot of him Joshan $4,000 check for earning first-place.

Congrats to him.

Well, that'll do it for us tonight.

We hope you'll join us again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky Edition where we inform connect and inspire and make sure you tune in throughout the day on the Kentucky Channel and online to KET abreast of all the happenings in the state capital when it comes to the legislative session.

We've got that for you throughout the day and you can KET in touch with what's happening here online by Facebook, Instagram and Buy X, formerly known as Twitter.

You can see about all the great programming here at KET and we encourage you also to send us an e-mail with a great story idea to public affairs at KET Dot Org and look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your smart device and phone.

Thanks so very much for watching.

I'm Renee Shaw until I see you again.

Take really good care.

Have a great night.

♪